MIAMI — Gov. Ron DeSantis has an advantage among Hispanic voters over his Democratic opponent Charlie Crist, according to a new poll for Telemundo/ LX News. A majority also said they supported the Republican governor’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hurricane Ian response, housing, insurance issues — and his recent relocation of migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard.
Of the 625 likely Hispanic voters polled statewide, 51% said they would vote for DeSantis if the election were held on that day, while 44% said they would back Crist. Among independents, DeSantis was favored slightly higher than the overall average, with 56% of those polled saying they would vote for DeSantis. Most Democrats, 92%, and most Republicans, 95%, said they would back their party’s candidate.
However, the support for each candidate diverged strikingly when split up by country of origin and region of the state. While Cubans consistently agreed with DeSantis on all issues, most Puerto Ricans backed Crist and disagreed with DeSantis on issues like immigration. Other Hispanics — which included Colombians, Venezuelans, Mexican-Americans and Central Americans — disapproved of DeSantis’ flying of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard and were evenly split on his overall performance as governor.
